A Family That Saves
by SwanQueen1001
Summary: I own absolutely nothing except what has come out of my own imagination. All characters belong to abc and Disney. Small town mayor Regina gets a surprising visit from someone she's never met... or has she? Her life gets completely turned upside down. Rated T to be safe but will change when necessary.
1. Charlotte

**A/N: Aloha everyone! This is my first story on this account! I am really motivated to get this story out and see it through to the end. Unfortunately with my other swanqueen stories, I lost motivation. This one has been on my mind for a while so here goes. Enjoy!**

It was another friday night and Regina Mills just finished up the rest of her paperwork in her home office. She would often bring her work home with her; the Mayor never really rests. Her eyes ached from the squinting at fine print. Her back cracked as she stood for the first time in two hours. As she made her way upstairs a knock at her front door pulled her away from the comfort of dream land.

Pulling open the door, the brunette frowned when she saw a young girl standing there. "May I help you?"

"Are you Regina MIlls?" She asked in a voice and way that one wouldn't expect from a young girl like this.

"I am. Who are you?"

"My name is Charlotte and I'm your daughter." She smiled and stepped closer. Regina almost stumbled back into her house.

"You're mistaken. I'm sorry but I don't have children. You should go find your parents." She tried to close the door but the girl stopped her.

"You do have children; two actually but we can get back to that later. Your family needs your help and I'm here to show you how to break the curse." Charlotte pulled a book out of her backpack.

"With… fairytales?" Regina sighed. "Come in here, it's cold outside. You can sit on the couch while I make a phone call."

"Okay. I know the way." The little girl walked straight into the living room so naturally, like she's been doing it her whole life.

Regina paced back and forth as she listened to the phone ringing. "Pick up the phone." She glanced at the time, realizing how late it was. "Please pick up."

"Madam Mayor… What can I do for you this evening?"

"Sheriff, I am so sorry for calling at this hour. This is strictly business however as I have a young girl in my home claiming that I am her mother."

"Well are you?"

"I can assure you I would remember having a child. Besides, it's impossible." The pause she took caused the sheriff to wonder and put that on hold for another conversation on another day. "Just get here as soon as you can Sheriff."

"Sure thing, madam mayor."

Regina approached the couch and saw the little girl sleeping soundly. Now that she could actually get a closer look, she could see the similarities with their features. The girl had her hair, her nose and her lips. She reached down and picked her up. "I'm gonna take you to the guest room. The sheriff will be here soon and we'll sort all of this out."

As she said that she swore she could hear Charlotte whisper mom against her cheek. The thought of being a mother thrilled Regina. She regret the abuse she put herself through early on that kept her from having any children. This was a dream of hers… or a nightmare.

The front door opened just as Regina made her way down stairs. "Sheriff Swan."

"Mayor Mills."

Regina walked to Emma and let herself be pulled into a hug. "Emma."

"You wanna talk about it? Where's the kid?"

"She's upstairs sleeping. I honestly have no idea what to do about this."

"Well we already sent out her picture and name to see if anything comes up in missing persons. Hopefully someone claims her."

Regina frowned. "What if no one does?"

"Regina she isn't an orphan. She's not in the system so I don't know where she came from, but if for some really strange reason, no one is looking for her, she'll go into foster care."

"Okay. Come sit." Regina walked to the couch and sat down, her hand automatically resting on her temple. "It's been a long day and now I won't even be able to sleep because of this little girl in the guest room right now."

"Well, she came to you and said you're her mother. Clearly she has good taste." Emma smirked and nudged Regina's leg with her foot. "You'd be a great mother you know."

"Well, I didn't exactly have the best example Emma. I mean look at us…" She stopped herself and looked away.

"Don't stop Regina. Tell me what's on your mind. What about us?"

"I use you for sex. I can't even have a real relationship with someone I care for. I'm a horrible person and that's all thanks to the only role model offered to me growing up… my mother. I'm so sorry Emma. I can't give you everything you want. I can't…"

"Hey Gina look at me. I've never asked you for more than this. I really do love being around you and spending time with you. I love that you let me see who you are behind all those walls you've put up. I'm not exactly the easiest person to care for, but you managed just fine. Everything we've been through it's a miracle we found someone we can spend more than five minutes with without trying to kill them."

Both women laughed as Regina situated herself in Emma's lap as she had countless nights before.

"I really do love… spending my time with you Emma. You make my world a lot better I assure you. I hope that's enough for now."

Emma kisses the mayor's soft lips sweetly. "Just being in your life and having you in mine is more than enough. Regina you're amazing and I won't give up on this."

"Emma?" Regina nudged the other woman's nose with her own as her arms rested over her shoulders. Emma nodded waiting for more. "Take me to bed?"

"Of course Gina. Always."

 **Thanks guys! This chapter was the shortest of them so I hope you stick in there. Things will be getting interesting very soon and I will end up changing the rating as the story builds and our two ladies become more serious. Peace and love. Feel free to leave a review! :)**


	2. Swan-Mills

**A/N: Hello again! New Chapter yay! I hope you all enjoy it and all mistakes are mine, though I hope there aren't too many.**

Regina woke up to a mass of blonde hair in her face. She loved waking up like this, even though she'd never admit that out loud. She glanced at the time and it read 3:54 AM. "Emma it's time to wake up." Regina whispered against a pale shoulder. The blonde groaned in protest. "Emma, Henry is gonna wonder where you are." Emma's son Henry was everything to the blonde. She lived for that kid and Regina knew that Emma wanted him to know about them and their relationship, or whatever you'd call them.

"Mary Margaret is watching him. She said she'd take him to school." Emma turned in Regina's arms and snuggled closer. "I'm good here Gina."

"You know cuddling and sleepovers…"

"Are for couples… I know Regina. I know you're not looking for a relationship, but you should at least let yourself be happy; even if it isn't about being with me in that way. Even if it's just letting me be your friend." Emma smiled softly. She was in love with this woman, she just didn't want to scare her away.

"We've been doing this for months Em. I want more… but I'm just not ready." She paused, looking Emma in her eyes. She took a steadying breath before continuing. "I wanna be ready, believe me I do. I don't want to lose what we have. I promise I'm trying."  
"Regina." Emma lays a loving hand on the other womans arm. "You move at your own pace okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Regina held out her pinky. Pinky promises were always something the brunette did that melted Emma's heart. It was insanely adorable.

"Pinky promise babe." Regina gave Emma a look at the pet name. "What? I'm allowed to call you that in here."

"Hmmmm… Fine." Regina chuckled and leaned in to kiss the sheriff's waiting lips. She could really kiss her forever. As they kissed, she couldn't stop herself from rolling on top of the younger woman. She moaned into the kiss, feeling Emma's hands roaming over her back. She never wanted to stop, but the sound of a door closing down the hall pulled them apart.

"Shit!" Regina got off the bed and pulled her robe on, tossing an oversized T shirt at the blonde still in bed. "Just… stay quiet and I'll find out what's wrong."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Regina pulled her door open just enough to poke her head out. "Hey Charlotte, you're up early, are you okay sweetie?" She had no idea how to make conversation with this girl.

"I had a bad dream." She paused and wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Can we make hot chocolate? Please."

Regina couldn't help but draw parallels with the girl in front of her and the woman in her bed. When Emma woke up from a bad dream, she always asked to get some hot chocolate. "Sure. Come on." Regina shut the door, but not without turning to see Emma smiling at her. She waved like a love sick puppy.

They were half way down the stairs when Charlotte took Regina's hand in her own. "Is mom coming too?" She asked curiously.

"I'm sorry?"

"Emma… mom. I thought I heard you talking last night."

"So Emma is your mom too? But you said I'm your mom." Regina made the hot chocolate while charlotte got up on the chair. "Look, I'm really sorry but I'm no one's mother. I'm pretty sure I'd remember having a child, especially one as beautiful as you. You're mistaken." Regina put the cup in front of the little girl and sat next to her seriously. "Someone is looking for you, your parents."

"No one is looking for me because my parents are right in front of me in this house. You and Emma. You're all cursed! This whole town is. If you give me a chance I can prove it!"

"Please stop! That's enough."

"No! You don't remember because the Queen of hearts cast a curse on you. You only went along with it because bad things were gonna happen to your family. I have to help you remember."

Regina rubbed her forehead. This was too much for her to hear. She didn't believe it, but this girl was surely persistent. She looked over just as Charlotte sprinkled cinnamon on her drink. Curious, she thought. "Look, we're gonna get this all settled when the sheriff wakes up okay? She'll check if anyone responded to the alert she sent out."

Charlotte's face dropped. She didn't want them to send her away. "Please… I don't want to go. This is my home." She sniffled, holding back her tears. "Please mom. You'll see that no one is looking for me and I'll end up in the system. I don't belong there, I belong here."

"We'll talk about this when Emma is up okay?" Regina's head was pounding. She didn't believe a word, but she couldn't deny that she wanted to, that she wanted to know this girl the way she claimed to know Regina and Emma. "It's really early so let's just try and get some more sleep."

Charlotte didn't want to sleep, she was afraid that they wouldn't ever believe her. She needed to find someone who would believe her, someone who could help her. She just nodded and made her way back up to the room.

Regina got back in bed, her cheeks wet with tears.

"Gina are you okay?" Emma noticed the damp cheeks pressing against her bare arm.

"Emma I don't know what to do. She isn't mine Emma but she feels like mine. I look at her and listen to her talk and she reminds me so much of myself and you. But I know it's impossible and it's crazy and she probably has actual parents out there looking for her. Who wouldn't be looking for that beautiful girl?"

"She reminds you of me?"

"She said you're also her mother and that we and the entire town, are cursed by the Queen of Hearts? I don't know. She's so confused and now I'm confused. Emma how am I supposed to move on after this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't talk about it, but within the past few years I've been thinking about adopting. I've been wishing I could have kids, but I just can't. Now this girl is here and she's saying I'm her mom. Emma she called me mom and my heart just... I don't even know. It just felt right. I'm losing my mind."

"Hey don't think too much about it. We can figure all of this out in the morning after a few more hours of sleep okay?"

"What if no one is looking for her?" Regina asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Then we call the right people and she goes in…"

"The system!? We can't just send her away Emma. She's convinced we're her parents and that no one will be looking for her. It's heart breaking."

Emma simply pulled her closer, holding her tight as she kissed the top of her head. "If she ends up needing it, would you be willing to foster her?"

"Are you serious?" Regina sat up a little straighter against Emma to look her in the eyes. "Like really serious?"

"I am if you are. I have a few friends working for the state and I think I can pull a few strings to have you foster Charlotte. There will be conditions, I can already tell."

"What is it?"

"We will talk about that in the morning Gina. It's a conversation that will require a lot of coffee."

Regina nodded and kissed Emma's waiting lips before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

...

"Regina!" Emma's voice carried through the large house, waking the sleeping mayor. "Gina! She's not here!"

"What!?" Regina jumped out of bed, pulling her clothes on immediately. "What do you mean she's not here?"

"She isn't in the house, I checked everywhere. I checked the yard, I checked the basement. She isn't anywhere. She left this book and a note." Emma held up an old fairytale book.

"Let me see the note Em." Regina took the offered piece of paper, opening it up and reading. 'Mom's, I know it's hard to believe but I am telling you the truth. Please just read this book and you'll know how to find me. I love you. -Charlotte Swan-Mills'

"Read a book!? Seriously!" Regina yelled. She was so frustrated, she just wanted to scream.

"Gina. I'm gonna go look for her okay? I'll take the cruiser and go around town. You go to work and take this book. Read it Regina. If she says it'll help then I'm willing to bet my paycheck that she's right. Maybe she left clues in there."

"Okay." Emma kissed Regina before heading out. Regina decided to simply trust Emma and do what she said.

A couple hours had passed and Emma was exhausted. Her phone rang and she answered knowing exactly who it was. "Gina are you okay?"

"I'm okay Em, I just…"

"I looked everywhere Regina and I just can't find her. I have no idea where she'd be and no one has claimed her yet."

"Emma I actually have some news…"

"I let you down. I'm sorry. I've spent most of my life tracking down people and I can't find a little girl!"

"Emma will you please shut up and let me talk! It's Henry Em!"

"What? Is he okay?" Emma asked, suddenly too worried to say another word.

"Yes he's okay. I got to the end of the book Emma. It says: This book belongs to Henry Swan-Mills."

A long pause followed, Regina thought Emma might have hung up the phone or worse had a heart attack.

"What the fuck!?"

 **THANKS FOR READING! Please feel free to leave reviews or comments or even just a hey. Would love to make new friends. :) I hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next chapter. Love you all. xoxo**


	3. Henry's Castle

**A/N: Heyo! Another chapter. Not sure if anyone is enjoying this story but I'll keep going for now. :) It's a pretty slow start I know, just wanna get the story started. It'll pick up soon I promise. We get to see what happens when Charlotte meets Henry! Enjoy!**

Charlotte couldn't sleep. She needed to get the one person she knew would believe her to talk to her. She decided to go and wait for him to come to her. She wrote a note, left the fairytale book and went off to her safe place; the one place she knew he would always find her.

Luckily she packed snacks because she realized it might take a while for her mom's to figure it all out. So she just sat and waited.

"Emma are you okay?" Regina could hear her thoughts over the phone. "Em?"

"I'm okay Gina, Just; it say's Henry Swan-Mills?"

"I swear it Emma. In his handwriting." Another pause.

"I'll pick you up. I'm on my over to you. We're gonna take Henry out of school today." Emma turned on the siren of the police car.

"I'll be outside waiting for you."

Within a few minutes, Emma was there, a look of concern all over her face. "Can I see it?"

"Of course you can. It's your son's." Regina quickly handed the book over.

Emma skipped right to the end of the book, amazed when she saw, in her son's handwriting, his name. "Mills." She whispered as her fingers brushed over the name.

"Not gonna lie Emma… our names do sound great together." Regina blushed.

"They really do don't they?" Emma took Regina's hand in her own and kissed her knuckles discreetly since they were out on the street of the mayor's office building.

"Let's get Henry and find Charlotte."

"Yes Madam Mayor." Emma did a small bow, making Regina chuckle in amusement. They went off in the direction of Henry's school.

When they pulled up to the school, Henry was already outside with Mary Margaret.

"Hey kid." Emma ruffled his hair as she would always do before sitting down to talk to him.

"Mom… I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 13."

"Haha okay then sir, how do you do?" Emma mocked him lovingly. "I'm kidding."

"Hello Mayor Mills." Henry directed his attention to the woman standing beside his mother. He really liked having her around; she's been there since he was in diapers. "What's going on?"

Emma held out the book. "Do you know what this is?"

"A book of fairytales?"

"Obviously kid. Is it yours?" Emma waited anxiously as he examined it. She opened it to the back where Henry's name was.

"Woah! That's my name! That's my handwriting!" He took the book from her and stared wide eyed. "I don't remember writing this let alone seeing this book before in my life." Emma saw his eyes widen and realized what he saw. How did she not think about this part? "Swan-Mills." He stared hard at the name before looking at the women in front of him. "Swan-Mills?"

Emma was avoiding eye contact at all cost, staring at anything but her son, while Regina found the ground extremely interesting.

"Okay kid here's the thing…" Emma started. She just mumbled under her breath, trying to figure out a way out of the conversation she knew was coming.

"I'm not a kid." He shook his head. Regina took that moment to walk over to Mary Margaret, deciding that since she was there she might as well get some work done, and leave mother and son so they could talk. "Mom are you hooking up with the Mayor?"

"Woah Hen, why would you say hook up?" Emma asked.

"Because ma, if you were in a relationship, you would have told me. You tell me everything, especially when it affects both of us."

Emma knelt in front of her son who was now sitting on a bench. She whispered so Regina couldn't hear. "Look Henry; I want there to be more and I want Regina in our lives. She just isn't ready yet and that's okay. I didn't want to tell you what was happening because…"

"Because?" Henry could always tell when people were lying or keeping things from him, especially his mother.

"Because I know how easy it is to fall in love with her Henry. You are just like me and you get attached easily. I didn't want you to get hurt if things didn't work out."

Now Henry was smiling, staring at his mom.

"What?"

"You love her?"

A blush crept over her face furiously, turning her completely red. "Dude… there are no words." They glanced over to Regina who was going over work with Mary Margaret.

"She's pretty awesome ma."

"She's pretty everything Henry."

"So Operation Cupid? Operation… Otter!"

"Otter?"

"They're like soul mate animals mom. They even hold hands while they sleep."

"That's freaking adorable. Okay, operation otter it is."

Regina came back with a smile on her face in an attempt to hide her anxiety. "You two okay?"

"We're good Gina." Emma stood and took Regina's hand, squeezing it tight in her own. It was her way of letting her know they'd talk later.

"That's great! So… back to this book. Henry this is your name. Well, sort of. You said it's your handwriting from when you were ten? So do you remember where you'd go when you were ten, when you wanted to be alone?"

"Wait, what is this all about?"

Emma tried to think of a way to explain. "Hen, a little girl came to Regina's last night. She doesn't have a family looking for her and I couldn't find her in the system. It's like she's a ghost or something. She mentioned you and had this book when she arrived."

"Her name is Charlotte." Regina took the seat next to Henry. "She ran off and she said this book would help us find her. I think seeing your name means we're supposed to ask you if you have any idea where she is."

"I think I might know." He took the book and stood up. "I'll go find her, talk to her and bring her back."

"We can drive you." Regina offered.

"It's okay Mayor Mills. Maybe I can help if she trusts me. Maybe she'll talk to me and I can find out where she's from and why she came to Storybrook. I promise I'll be okay, I'll text when I find her and bring her back to Mayor Mills house before sunset."

Emma trusted her son, even though he was young, he was very mature for his age and she believed that he would always do the right thing. He definitely didn't get that from her. She was a rebel growing up and always feared her kid would end up like her. Luckily she had friends like Regina and Ruby and Kat. They were there when Henry's dad passed away to help her pick up the broken pieces. She would never be able to repay them for all they've done for her and her son. Now she wanted to help Regina and this girl, the way they helped her.

"Go get her Henry. Be safe, and we'll see you within the next hour or so. Any later and I'm sending out a search party."

"Aye aye sheriff." He said jokingly before running off to find Charlotte. He was sure he knew where she would be.

"Later punk."

Emma pulled Regina from her seat. "Let's go Gina. I'll drive. Let's go make some hot chocolate!"

Regina laughed and leaned against the blonde. "Sure but no cinnamon on mine."

"I'll have your share."

…

Meanwhile, Henry had just gotten to his favorite spot. He hasn't been back since he was ten and he couldn't believe how pristine it looked. Nothing changed. As he neared, he could see a small figure sitting on the structure before him.

"Hey." He tried not to startle the girl. She smiled and ran to him, crashing into him and hugging him tight. "Woah!"

"Henry! I missed you so much." She was smiling but her eyes were lined with tears.

"Are you okay?"

"I knew you'd find me here! This is our place. Our secret place." She said in a hushed voice. "Henry and Charlotte's castle."

"Ours? Have we met before?"

She nodded. "You don't remember, no one does because you're all under a curse. But I'm supposed to make you remember. I'm your sister!"

"My… my sister?" He found it hard to believe but she wasn't lying. Maybe she believed it so much that to her it wasn't a lie.

"I pinky promise Henry." She held out her pinky.

There were so many questions he had. He looked into her very familiar eyes; the mayor's eyes. All he saw was sincerity and truth. It shook him to his core. He hooked pinkies with her, deciding he'd give her a shot. "We have about an hour kiddo. Convince me."

"You've always called me that." She smiled brightly. "Let's get started."

And so they went through the story book together. Charlotte did her best to explain who everyone in town was before. She explained the first curse that created Storybrook and told Henry how the savior broke the curse and everyone remembered everything. She told him about Regina and how she fought to be good for him and her family and that everyone created their own stories with their own happy endings.

"So Mayor Mills is, or was the evil queen."

"But she's good now."

"She's good now and she fell in love with the savior who is my mom, Emma. Regina's mom, the queen of hearts cursed everyone because…?"

"Okay, I can pretty much answer every question you may have except that one. I actually don't know why she cast the curse. She took everyone's memory of her reason for casting the curse before doing it. I was young when the curse was cast and I spent the past three years with moms friend Archie. He sent me back here because just like our mom, I am also a savior and so are you."

"Me?"

Charlotte nodded. "You have the heart of the truest believer. That means you're my only shot to get my family back. The only one who can help me."

"Okay say I believe you… what can we do?"

"The only thing stronger than any magic is true love's kiss. We need to get moms to believe and to admit that they love each other. Then they'll kiss and the curse will break. Everyone will remember."

"Well we need a name for it. Operation…" He didn't think he'd be coming up with two names in one day. He thought about using the same name he had with Emma.

"Operation Otter."

Henry's jaw slacked in complete shock. "How did you come up with that name?"

"It's a long story but basically a long time ago, you read me stories that you wrote about an otter family. You love how loyal they are, how true. That's how our family is you know? I really can't wait for you guys to remember."

"You know what kiddo? Me too." He smiled. She wasn't lying about any of it, but he was still cautious. He felt a connection with her, a familial one. As much as he thought it would scare him, it just didn't. "But we do have to get you back. Regina and my mom are really worried."

Charlotte was afraid she'd be sent away. "Okay."

When they got to Regina's house, the two walked up the stairs side by side. The mayor and Sheriff ran out, Regina getting to Charlotte first. She pulled her close and examined her to see if she was injured. "Are you okay? Where have you been?"

Emma saw them together and couldn't help herself. "Holy shit!"

"Language Emma."

"Sorry Gina… just you look like each other."

"Well she is my mom." Charlotte was sure that would be a good enough explanation.

"Yeah, she said you told her I'm your mom too?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Charlotte where were you?" Regina questioned. Emma eyed Henry suspiciously.

"Someone forgot to text."

"I'm sorry ma. We just started talking and lost track of… well everything else."

"We were at our secret place." Charlotte reached into her bag and pulled out a crumpled paper. "Henry drew this for me a long time ago."

They opened it up. It was a cute drawing of a boy and girl in front of a large structure. At the top, once again written in Henry's handwriting was 'Henry and Charlotte's castle.'

 **Thank you for reading! Loved writing this one. I think Henry and Charlotte moments will always be so cute and sweet. They're the best. Things will be getting fun as Operation Otter gets going. What kind of shenanigans will the kids get into while trying to get the ladies to share true loves kiss? Anywho... have a great week everyone! Love you all!**


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